Sox get Lackey; Phils deal for Halladay

[Goran Dragic]

Links coming.

[Goran Dragic]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4742072

Cy Young winner Roy Halladay (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?playerId=3973), who has been the subject of much trade talk since before last July's deadline, is headed to the Philadelphia Phillies (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/clubhouse?team=phi), SI.com is reporting.

http://a.espncdn.com/i/headshots/mlb/players/65/3973.jpg
Halladay
According to the report, Phillies pitcher Cliff Lee (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?playerId=5353) is likely headed to the Seattle Mariners (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/clubhouse?team=sea) as part of the deal.
The Phillies tried to trade for Halladay last season, but couldn't agree to terms with the Toronto Blue Jays (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/clubhouse?team=tor). They then dealt for Lee instead.
Halladay, 32, is 148-76 lifetime with a 3.43 ERA. He won the 2003 Cy Young Award and finished in the top five in the Cy Young voting four other times.
Halladay went 17-10 with a 2.79 ERA in 32 starts for Toronto last season. He threw 239 innings and led the league with nine complete games.
Lee, who was acquired from the Indians on July 29 for four minor leaguers, quickly became Philadelphia's ace. Lee posted a 3.39 ERA in 12 starts for the Phillies and then went 4-0 with a 1.56 mark in five postseason outings, including 2-0 in the World Series.
Lee, the 2008 AL Cy Young winner, will make $8 million in 2010 and then be eligible for free agency.

[Goran Dragic]

http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/mlb/news/story?id=4741437


Source: Lackey agrees with Red Sox



The Boston Red Sox (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/clubhouse?team=bos) have reached a tentative deal with right-handed pitcher John Lackey (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?playerId=5203), pending a physical, worth slightly more than the $82.5 million, five-year contract A.J. Burnett (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?playerId=4153) signed with the New York Yankees (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/clubhouse?team=nyy) last year, a source familiar with the negotiations told ESPN.com's Jayson Stark.
Lackey traveled to Boston for a physical exam Monday, fueling speculation that an agreement was close at hand.

http://a.espncdn.com/i/headshots/mlb/players/65/5203.jpg (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?playerId=5203) John Lackey (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?playerId=5203)

#41 SP
Free agent

2009 STATS


GM27
W11
L8
BB47
K139
ERA3.83



Specific details weren't available, but the Red Sox's heightened pursuit of Lackey came after reports that Boston is fading in its efforts to retain free-agent outfielder Jason Bay (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?playerId=5496).
Lackey, 31, is 102-71 with a 3.81 ERA in eight seasons with the Angels, and he would join Josh Beckett (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?playerId=4242) and Jon Lester (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?playerId=28487) at the top of a powerhouse rotation in Boston. The Mariners, Angels and Mets are among the other teams interested in signing Lackey.
Entering the offseason, it was believed that Lackey would use A.J. Burnett (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?playerId=4153)'s five-year, $82.5 million contract with the New York Yankees (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/clubhouse?team=nyy) as a benchmark, but industry estimates of his potential haul have ranged from $60 million to $100 million.
http://espn.go.com/i/sportsnation/sn05/inlinepoll_h.gif (http://sports.espn.go.com/chat/sportsnation/index) http://espn.go.com/poll/images/poll83067_0.gif
There were reports that Lackey declined a $72 million offer earlier this year from the Angels, but his representatives have since characterized those reports as untrue.
Lackey shut out the Red Sox through 7 1/3 innings in Game 1 of the AL Division Series and nearly no-hit Boston in 2008, but in nine career regular-season starts at Fenway Park, he is 2-5 with a 5.75 ERA.
Bay turned down Boston's latest contract offer late last week and was ready to "move on" from Boston, according to his agent, Joe Urbon. The Red Sox have no intention of offering Bay a five-year deal, a source told ESPNBoston.com.
Also still up in the air is the status of third baseman Mike Lowell (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?playerId=3972), who will undergo a physical for the Rangers this week, a source told EPSNDallas.com, as the Red Sox and Rangers continue to evaluate a proposed trade that would send Lowell to Texas and catcher Max Ramirez (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?playerId=29162) to Boston.
Jayson Stark and Jerry Crasnick cover Major League Baseball for ESPN.com.

[PGDynasty24]

Mariners now have the best 1-2 punch with King Felix and Cliff Lee,that team could be dangerous

[Thunder Dan]

can't wait for Cliff Lee to bolt for the Yankees next year

[gaKNOW!blee]

Mariners now have the best 1-2 punch with King Felix and Cliff Lee,that team could be dangerous

holy shit, I forgot all about Felix. That could potentially be a Schilling/Johnson 1-2 punch :wow

[Goran Dragic]

can't wait for Cliff Lee to bolt for the Yankees next year


I'm done with baseball if that happens.

[Thunder Dan]

I'm done with baseball if that happens.

he turned down a deal to stay with the Phillies, setting up him going to the Yankees

[lefty]

Well, the Blue Jays are going to suck even more

[K-State Spur]

Lets just put the Yankees and Red Sox in the same division and let them duke it out 162 times.

That's what the Powers-That-Be are convinced that everybody wants to see.

[IronMexican]

I'm done with baseball if that happens.

This is too funny to even comment on.

[crc21209]

Great move by the Sox...hell yeah! :tu

[Rip-Hamilton32]

Well, the Blue Jays are going to suck even more

well that Jays weren't going anywhere anyways so atleast they get some young talent for the future

[Goran Dragic]

This is too funny to even comment on.


damn nigga your obsession with me is weird.

[KSeal]

Angels have been almost as pathetic as the Dodgers this off season which is strange cause they have a great owner. Doc might win 30 games in the NL.

[iggypop123]

angels are done. at least the dodgers have no competition in the nl west. their crap off-season still means a division title

[Texas Chili Dog]

Well this sucks.

errr...go Rangers!

[Goran Dragic]

According to recent reports Lee might not be involved in the trade for Halladay. The Phils would be unstoppable with a Lee/Halladay line-up.


That makes sense since it makes no sense in the first place to trade Lee + prospects for Halladay. If they still have that lineup with a rotation of Hamels Lee and Halladay :wow

[AFBlue]

That makes sense since it makes no sense in the first place to trade Lee + prospects for Halladay. If they still have that lineup with a rotation of Hamels Lee and Halladay :wow

Isn't the report that it's either Lee OR Hamels?

I don't think they'll end up with all three.

[iggypop123]

last i heard they said the deal is done and its for lee, however his agent said he hasnt heard a thing from the teams. i doubt they get him without giving up drabek and stuff. thats the only reason they did it, lee didnt watn to stay.

[iggypop123]

lee is gone from what ive heard. all 3 sporting news sites say so: SI, Fox, ESPN

[dallaskd]

Nice, Rangers fucking own Cliff Lee.

[Technique]

There's no way Phils keep Lee with Halladay.

[sribb43]

Thanks for playing Rangers...back to the cellar of the AL west

[Goran Dragic]

:lmao there's something wrong when a guy who won the Cy Young award a little over a year ago has been traded twice in the last 6 months.

[JMarkJohns]

angels are done. at least the dodgers have no competition in the nl west. their crap off-season still means a division title

What the hell are you talking about? Rockies will win the division, and the Giants are right there will the Rockies. Dodgers are looking at third, and, don't count out the Diamondbacks to get back into the Division race. Should Webb even be 80% of what he used to be (the most efficient pitcher in baseball, 1-time Cy Young, 2-time runner-up), and with the addition of Edwin Jackson, the Diamondbacks have a top-3 that could go deep into games and make them .500 competitive. Upton and Reynolds are the core of the offense, but Jackson was .300-25-90 type the season prior, and is returning to their lineup. Their offense was finally starting to come around despite Jackson's absence, so they could be very competitive with the Dodgers.

Not joking, dude, but the Dodgers are more than likely to finish third and very well could finish fourth.

[JMarkJohns]

:lmao there's something wrong when a guy who won the Cy Young award a little over a year ago has been traded twice in the last 6 months.

Agents... I've heard he wants CC money (23-25 mill per)...

[iggypop123]

What the hell are you talking about? Rockies will win the division, and the Giants are right there will the Rockies. Dodgers are looking at third, and, don't count out the Diamondbacks to get back into the Division race. Should Webb even be 80% of what he used to be (the most efficient pitcher in baseball, 1-time Cy Young, 2-time runner-up), and with the addition of Edwin Jackson, the Diamondbacks have a top-3 that could go deep into games and make them .500 competitive. Upton and Reynolds are the core of the offense, but Jackson was .300-25-90 type the season prior, and is returning to their lineup. Their offense was finally starting to come around despite Jackson's absence, so they could be very competitive with the Dodgers.

Not joking, dude, but the Dodgers are more than likely to finish third and very well could finish fourth.

after reading what you posted i stand by my statement

[JMarkJohns]

Ridiculously foolish... Colorado was a better team than the Dodgers by season's end and the Giants are young offensively but have shown some good potential. Dodgers haven't done jack... even the Diamondbacks basically add an two All-Star starters in Webb/Jackson and a .300-20-90 type of bat.

[iggypop123]

you are biased for a team and i am biased for a team. this will go nowhere, i will agree to disagree

[JMarkJohns]

I'm not biased for the Diamondbacks... I'm saying the Rockies are better than, that the Giants likely will be and the Diamondbacks could be as good as the Dodgers.

Throw out the first two months of last season and I believe the Dodgers finish third in the Division. That hot start won't happen again...

I would anticipate the order being Rockies (92 wins), Giants (88 wins), Dodgers (85 wins) and Diamondbacks (82 wins)...

But it wouldn't surprise me if the Dodgers fell behind the Diamondbacks considering the talent Arizona is essentially adding.

[Horry For 3!]

I think this trade is stupid for the Phillies, they are givin up Lee and good prospects and gettin back Halladay and okay prospects.


Mariners come out on top in this deal though with gettin Lee and only havin to give up 2 prospects.

[KSeal]

Glad the Phillies had to give up Drabek. I wonder how much better this really makes them for next year, nobody could pitch better then Cliff Lee pitched in the 09 playoffs. I'm surprised they couldn't find a way to get Halladay and keep Lee even for just this year when looking at the prospects they gave up.

[EricB]

I don't understand philly's thinking what so ever behind this trade.

[JamStone]

Along the same lines as what's been said already, perhaps the Phillies don't believe that Cliff Lee can pitch the same way next year like he had in the playoffs. He did have a little bit of inconsistency year to year in Cleveland. And, knowing they'll have a hard time affording Lee, perhaps the Phillies think if he has a down year, they wouldn't be able to get the same caliber of prospects if they wait to trade him next year. I'm just guessing.

[symple19]

I like this deal for the Mariners too. Cliff/Felix 1-2 punch is nasty.

Halladay will probably be untouchable pitching in the NL though, so the Phils are still the NL frontrunner, IMO.

[gaKNOW!blee]

This deal is pretty simple for the Phillies. They had three choices:

Do nothing: Cliff Lee is your ace this year then walks at the end of the year because they already tried to re-sign him and he wants a CC deal. Something the Phillies arent looking to give him.

Trade for Halladay and keep Lee: Great for this year....but risky. If one of them gets hurt you're screwed because your farm is empty now.

Option 3 is what they chose: Trading for Halladay gives you a top 3 pitcher in baseball for the next FOUR years, and you still get 2 of Seattles top 10 prospects. They might not be the same caliber but you never know how prospects will turn out...you know exactly what you're getting in Halladay. Drabek is obviously a great great talent, but is coming off TJ surgery at a young age (probably wont be a big deal, but there are questions) and Taylor is a stud in the minors but blocked right now by 3 all start OF's in Philly.

I like what the Phils did.